The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the middle of a tough playoff fight against the Toronto Raptors, and two former Sacramento Kings are along for the ride. The thing is that neither Dennis Schroder nor Keon Ellis is making much of an impact, largely riding the bench in the postseason.
When the 2026 trade deadline rolled around, the Kings were expected by many to make the biggest moves in the NBA. Instead, they made one small move. In hindsight, it was incredibly optimistic to think that Scott Perry would be able to move Zach LaVine or Domantas Sabonis so quickly.
What Sacramento did manage to do was send the incredibly bitter Dario Saric to the Bulls while trading Ellis and Schroder to the Cavs. As part of that three-team effort, the Kings got De'Andre Hunter, who was promptly injured and ended up out for the rest of the season.
The move was more about getting Saric, Schroder, and Ellis off the roster than bringing Hunter in. For Saric, the trade was the start of a series of events that essentially ended his NBA career. On the other hand, Schroder and Ellis ended up on a Eastern Conference contender that made the playoffs.
Schroder and Ellis ride the pine through the early postseason
So far, neither of these former Kings have gotten many playoff minutes. Schroder is averaging 11.3 minutes per game, which isn't bad. In that time, he's pulling down averages of 4.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.3 blocks, and 0.3 steals. He's not winning MVP with those numbers.
Things are a little more bleak for Ellis. Over the the first four games of the series between the Cavs and the Raps, he's only been getting 10.8 minutes per game. While on the court, he's averaging 0.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.3 blocks, and 0.8 steals. His stat sheet is pretty quiet these days.
Both Schroder and Ellis are still relatively new to the roster, and minutes are even harder to come by in the postseason. Head coach Kenny Atkinson is going to give the most minutes to his heavy hitters, like Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, and Max Strus.
That being said, Schroder had himself one heck of a game five, particularly in the fourth quarter when the Cavs needed him the most. He played 21 minutes in that game and collected 19 points on seven of 11 from the field. That kind of efficiency is clutch in a tight series like this one.
Ellis, on the other hand, didn't play at all. If he ends up spending most of the playoffs on the Cavs' bench, that's not necessarily a bad thing. For someone like Ellis who has no real playoffs experience, even a few minutes is incredibly valuable and will be educational.
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